trip report to Portugal and Amsterdam
 

Hello All,

I meant to write a lengthy report some months back, but things have been crazy. I gotta say that we had a fantastic time in Portugal and Amsterdam. We spend 2 weeks in Portugal and 3 days in Amsterdam on our way back to the US. Our trip was in August 2006, and we didn't have any hotel reservations except in Lisbon and in Amsterdam, we rented a car and we just drove everywhere from Lisbon, Cascais, Porto, Amarante, etc etc etc. My pics speak for myself. This was our second time in Portugal and hopefully many more to come.

www.carlossylvia.shutterfly.com

By the way, there are some pics from France as well. We flew to France two weeks after we came back from Portugal/Amsterdam.

Enjoy it!

Beautiful pictures!!! It reminded me it's lunch time, mainly the dobrada com feijao branco in Viseu and the ensopado de borrego in Monsaraz, and the pasteis de belem to finish...
But, honestly... I pass the grilled sardines with coffee for breakfast :-)

Fresh Sardines were definitely excellent with coffee in the morning. I wouldn't do it everyday though!

Carlos,
Thank you so much for posting these lovely pictures. Portugal is on my "future list" and I sure like getting a sneak preview!

Great pictures. I just reserved a trip to Portugal and Amsterdam in August so it was nice to see this post. We will have 10 full days total. Given that we can't see as much of Portugal as you did, what would you consider the highlights. We were thinking of Lisbon and the South (i.e. Lagos).

Given that you only have 10 days for your total trip. I would say that the highlights will be to concentrate in the nearby areas such as, Evora, Cascais, Lisbon....Lagos is very touristy and really busy in the summer time and I wouldn't consider it a highlight, but more like a 1/2 day thing and that's it. if you can, rent a car and visit the smaller towns such as Evoramonte, Monsarraz, Sao Pedro de Corval...etc.

Have fun!

what were the roads like driving from sintra to obidos and batalha, what were the local drivers like, how easy is it to find parking in those cities, and how do you pay for parking, if required?

did you visit coimbra and/or evora? (no pics posted)

in sintra, any recommendations for a local inexpensive restaurant?

The roads were fantastic, no problem whatsoever. The drivers are on the other hand ...nuts!, specially on the highway. If you are not planning to speed up, then just stay on the right lane. Trying to get from point a to point b was very easy. The rental company gave us a map which was easy to follow, but we also back it up with maps from michelin.com.
In regards to parking, I didn't pay parking anywhere other than in Lisbon. I was there during high season (August) and I found parking with no problem. I didn't go to Coimbra as I really didn't have any drawn to it. However, my wife and I went to Evora 2 years ago, so we didn't go there this time around, therefore there are no pictures. We love Evora, but we wanted to see other towns instead.
In Sintra, the restaurants are mainly in the main square area or a few blocks away from it, and some are expensive and some are not. We dine away from the main square, and found some cafes nearby where you can get nice salads or soups at a moderate price. It's easy to find, everything is within walking distance. Sorry I don't remember the name. You can always ask any of the locals. Portuguese people are very friendly and always willing to help!...at least most of the time :)

Carlos, Great pictures! You went without reservations, tell me how you went about finding lodging. Also, did you arrange the rental car from the states and if so with who? Thanks!

we just asked around. For the most part we rented rooms at family houses, stayed at b&b's that we found along the way, etc, it was really easy. The only reservation we had was in Lisbon. We made the reservations in the US, and as soon as we arrived in Lisbon we just picked up the car.

Great pictures! Thanks for the inspiration. Can you say more about the weather in August along the coast? Is it extremely hot, or is that actually a reasonable time to go?
Thanks!

Great pictures and thanks for posting.

I noticed you were not the only person wearing shorts and glad you were comfortable..the beaches especially look wonderful.

Thanks for posting, Carlos. I am much inspired to plan my trip in the coming weeks!

Seasyke, yes August was hot especially inland....forest fires all over the place. But the coast was great weather with nice breeze from the ocean.